Camacho Holds On To Wbc Title Rosario Stuns Bramble To Claim Wba Crown

September 27, 1986|By Brian Schmitz of The Sentinel Staff

MIAMI BEACH — Hector ''Macho'' Camacho, as flashy as his blue sequinned boxing trunks, had a first-round knockdown of Cornelius Boza-Edwards Friday night and went on to retain his World Boxing Council lightweight title.

Remaining undefeated in 31 fights, Camacho won a unanimous 12-round decision before a crowd of 5,000 at Abel Holtz Stadium. Judges scored the bout 115-112, 120-108 and 118-109.

Edwin Rosario scored a stunning, second-round knockout to take the World Boxing Association lightweight title from Livingstone Bramble in a scheduled 15-round bout.

Rosario's upset spoiled promoter Don King's plans to stage a unification fight between Bramble and Camacho next spring. But a Camacho- Rosario fight may be even a better ticket.

Camacho barely avoided an upst in June when judges awarded him a spilt decision over Rosario.

''Whenever they get it put together,'' Camacho's manager, Marty Cohen said of a Camacho-Rosario rematch. ''If the money is right. . . . he'll fight anybody.''

Camacho said, ''Maybe I will, maybe I won't fight Rosario.''

Camacho said he is thinking about moving up to the junior welterweight class (140 pounds) because he had trouble making the 135-pound lightweight limit.

He said he had to run 4 miles Friday morning to lose weight before the weigh-in. His weight hovered between 138-143 during the week, he said.

''I was dying out there by the fifth round. I had no legs. My legs were gone,'' Camacho said. ''I couldn't take him out like I wanted to.''

Camacho was dazzling in the first round. Showing his hand speed and movement that would prove to be the difference in the fight, Camacho unleashed a flurry of punches and sent Boza-Edwards down with a right on the top of the head. Boza-Edwards (45-6-1) recovered but was never a threat.

Camacho, 24, realizing Boza-Edwards had only a puncher's chance, pedaled away from danger and merely put on a boxing clinic.

The crowd booed what looked like a sparring session. ''This kid is a throwback to the old boxers,'' Cohen said. ''These people don't know a boxing masterpiece when they see one. Sugar Ray Leonard put on boxing exhibitions, and people loved him.''

Six years older than Camacho, Boza-Edwards tried to land the home-run ball. Every time he swung, the elusive Camacho was gone and grinning.

Rosario, a 4-1 underdog, capped a whirlwind of punches with a crisp right hand that sent Bramble (24-2-1, 15 KOs) down for the count at 2:28 of the second round.

Rosario (24-2, 19 KOs) said he had learned from his fight with Camacho.

''After the Camacho fight everybody asked me why I didn't put him away,'' Rosario said. ''I had watched films and saw whenever I got a guy in a bad position I didn't follow up.

''I did tonight.''

A master boxer-puncher who had Camacho dazed twice, Rosario came out counterpunching effectively. A brisk combination near the end of the first round was a portent of things to come.

Rosario scored with a left-right early in the second and then stunned Bramble with a left in a corner. Landing virtually every punch, Rosario hit Bramble with a right on the side of the head, sending him down.

Bramble said on the way out of the ring that Rosario thumbed him, and he couldn't see to continue fighting. Nursing a cut over his right eye, he refused to talk the press and went to a hospital. ''He's going to the hospital to get his head together,'' said Bramble's manager, Lee Black.

On the undercard, heavyweight Jose Ribalta of Miami, coming off a 14th-round TKO defeat to Mike Tyson, scored a second-round technical knockout over John Williams.